Praying with Anger

M Night Shyamalan's debut film sees him return to India to find his ancestry. This isn't a bad movie and although budget constraints are evident, they should be forgiven seeing as this is his very first attempt. Dev Raman (M. Night Shyamalan) is an American-born Indian sent to India as part of a college student exchange program. Dev is reluctant to go, but his mother, to whom he is devoted, insists. So, friendless and alone, halfway across the world, Dev experiences culture shock -- he may look like an Indian, but it is quickly and vividly demonstrated that looks are of little consequence, and it will take more than a glib tongue and an unwillingness to back down to earn acceptance and respect. In the midst of his initial travails, Dev's sole friend is Sunjay (Mike Muthu), his guide and mentor, upon whose advice he relies. Praying with Anger relies on too much stock material for it to warrant anything more than a passing interest.

This is it, where it all started. M. Night Shyamalan's first movie "Praying With Anger" is a film about an Indian-American boy going to India, the place where his parents were born, so he can learn of his families way of life. I'll start out with saying that the concept is very intriguing. The plot is well written enough, but not perfect. Some characters are a bit inconsistent with there goals and behavior. The acting is decent, but again not perfect. Shyamalan himself is the strongest actor in the film, everyone else is okay. I'm not knocking the actors though, I know it's a hard job. And finally the filmmaking. It's a bit amateurish, but than again, Shyamalan was an amateur when he made this. It's his first film after all, it's good for what he had. If he made the movie now, I guarantee it would have better acting, cinematography, writing, and editing. In general, the movie is an impressive feat. Especially for his first movie, being self funded and all, I'd give it about a 6.6 out of 10.

M. Night's debut film is hard to judge properly with such a low quality version of it on the Internet. It's essentially a student film and a pretty uninteresting one honestly. I'll give M. Night some credit on playing the main character and having a passable music score in it, but that's really all the good things going for this film.

The performances are amateur and it doesn't leave much of an impression by the end. It's kind of cool there were little glimpses of dialogue and ideas in this film that foreshadow what movies M. Night would make in the near future. Oh well, you gotta start somewhere in the industry I guess, so can't be too harsh on this debut.

3/10.

Yes, this depiction is outright because it highlights the necessity of one's origin. Certain elements of our lives are locked or rather concealed with us until we enter the vicinity of our origin. Because usually the end is the start from where we came. Great movie overall, Wonder what took me so long to watch it. Recommended to me by a random blogger, I highly recommend it to all that will read my review. You shant regret investing your hours in it. The character is easy to connect with as his situation is seemingly very relatable. Great movie for friends and family too. Would watch it tirelessly had I the time.

I saw this film on Indian television many years ago and remembered it distinctly, one for its storyline (which as a South Asian American I could relate to), and second for the quite interesting name of the director. Little did I know way back then that I was watching the work of one of current cinema's more gifted filmmakers.

I found a rare VHS of the film and recently viewed it, and much could be see of the distinctive M. Night Shyamalan style. There is no twist ending to this film, but there is a silent and slow development to the story which pays dividends to the viewer. One could see that Night was not in complete control of his powers, but as a debut film, "Praying" is a highly accomplished piece of work, and was a precursor to a wonderful talent indeed.

The cinematography of DP Madhu Ambat is excellent, the acting is even, and the music a bit synth-cheesy, but what truly stands out is the emotional depth of the film. In hindsight there may have been too many issues tackled within the film (arranged marriages, caste, religion, poverty, ragging, elderly respect, diaspora, and family) but nonetheless all are addressed truthfully and honestly.

If you can locate this film, it is worth a watch. You'll see the beginnings and origins of Shyamalan's signature style, and a wonderful little piece of independent low-budget film-making.